Activists shine a light on Stonehenge in protest of tunnel project

Thursday, 17 August 2023 01:00

As dusk fell on 14th August, activists from Extinction Rebellion and Sacred Earth Activism projected images onto Stonehenge.

The messages included “Standing for Stonehenge”, “Stop The Tunnel” and “No New Roads”.

Expressions of opposition and dissent to the road scheme have come from all quarters of society both in the UK and across the globe.

Despite previous decisions being quashed by the courts, the UK Government announced approval for a major tunnel and road scheme ignoring objections from UNESCO and against the advice of planning inspectors.

Image: XR Salisbury

Stonehenge is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but UNESCO has declared the scheme as being incompatible with its “Outstanding Universal Value'' and has warned it could lose its World Heritage Site status.

Perhaps the most famous landmark in the United Kingdom, Stonehenge, is regarded as a British cultural icon. It has been a legally protected scheduled monument for over a century.

“The decision to go ahead with this project is political. Building more roads just encourages more traffic. It’s completely pointless and destructive both locally and globally, totally ignoring what science is telling us as we see the floods and fires of climate breakdown unfold.”
Marion Malcher, Extinction Rebellion

Di Cross of Salisbury's Extinction Rebellion group said, “The planet is experiencing the sixth mass extinction in its long history, to even consider rolling in the bulldozers to any part of this precious landscape, the home to rare and threatened species is ecocide, a crime against nature.”

Image: XR Salisbury

The project was first given permission in 2020, it got cancelled by the High Court in 2021 due to protests from local people who didn’t want it.

However, the Department for Transport approved it again earlier this year.

Highways England, the organisation in charge, wants to construct this tunnel to help ease traffic and make it faster for people to travel on the A303 road.

To make the tunnel a reality, a total of eight miles of the A303 road will be revamped.

Wiltshire Council is supporting this plan, and they believe it will be a great improvement for everyone.

Wiltshire councillor Caroline Thomas, Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “We’re delighted that consent has been granted once again for the A303 Stonehenge project, and it can now move forward.

“This huge infrastructure project represents a significant investment in Wiltshire that will boost the economy of both our county and the wider region, unlocking jobs and investment.

“Along with the construction, there will also be comprehensive programme of archaeological mitigation, which will enhance our understanding of the World Heritage Site,”